Saturday, April 12, 2014

MATERO member of parliament Miles Sampa says he has been vindicated for questioning Geoffrey Mwamba's loyalty to the party and President Michael Sata. And Mandevu PF member of parliament Jean Kapata says Mwamba, the former defence minister, should apologise to President Sata, saying no individual was above the party.

Meanwhile, Northern Province PF secretary Everest Chellah says the provincial executive committee wants Mwamba to resign as member of parliament because of the manner in which he resigned his Cabinet position.
Speaking upon arrival at Kasama airport yesterday, Sampa, who is PF chairman for commerce and also commerce deputy minister, said while individuals have a right to resign, it matters how they do it.
He said the disclosure, by Mwamba, of the conversation he had with President Sata was not right.

"We questioned his loyalty a long time ago and now we have been vindicated. Every member needs to behave according to the rules of the party. So if there is anyone in the party who still has divided loyalty, they should resign and follow suit. All of us need to have loyalty to one leader, who is Sata," said Sampa.

And Kapata, who is community development deputy minister and a member of the PF's central committee, said discipline was cardinal in the party.

"What has happened (Mwamba's resignation) is very unfortunate because the appointing authority...even in a home, when a child is whipped, banoko naba wiso nga bakuponona, nishi chapwa waleka (When your mother and father cane you, that is it; you stop). How many times are you going to run from home and say you are not my father or mother? So we need discipline because there is no one who is above the party. An individual is not above the party," she said.

Kapata said the best thing that Mwamba could do was to apologise to President Sata and be in line with what the PF believed in.

"We did not invite anyone to come and join PF, neither did we chase anyone to leave PF; they came on their own accord and they have left on their own accord and we will leave it like that. For now, let us be united in the province. We are waiting for 2016, and if we do not organise ourselves now, the opposition will find their way here in Northern Province," she said.

Kapata said the problem people had with President Sata was that he was very frank.

"He never hides; if he hears anything, he will call me and say 'Jean, you said this' and if you cannot take it, too bad. He will never go behind anyone to talk about anyone, so let's be united and rally behind our President," she said.

Further asked by reporters if she would take time to pay a courtesy call on Mwamba, who is in Kasama, Kapata said Mwamba was too junior to her and Sampa in the party hierarchy.

Meanwhile, Chellah said the executive committee in the province had never worked in harmony with Mwamba because of his divisive leadership as member of parliament.

"His loyalty to the party and to the President has always been questionable. That is why we are asking the President to let him get
out of the party so that we can work in harmony," said Chellah.

The two ministers, who have embarked on a tour of provinces to look at the party structures in the various provinces, later visited Kasama Milling, which is owned by Lupando Munkonge, who is Mwamba's cousin. They also appeared on Radio Mano, where they addressed various issues, among them party organisation and small scale enterprises.

During the programme on Radio Mano, Sampa said some vultures were trying to take advantage of the standoff between the Bemba Royal Establishment and the government to discredit the PF.

Mwamba resigned his ministerial position early this week after President Sata questioned his meetings with the Bashilubemba.

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